Snow fell heavily, the night deepened, and in the mountains and forests, only the vastness of the night remained.

The wind and snow howled on the mountainside. In a cave amidst these desolate mountains, a bonfire burned, simple food simmering over it. Several men in leather cloaks and with sabers at their waists gathered around the fire. After a while, someone else came in from the wind and snow outside the cave, exhaling a puff of white air. As he walked over, he first saluted the man at the innermost part of the cave.

"The snow won't stop anytime soon..."

Sitting in the innermost position of the cave, Tie Tianying threw a branch into the fire, watching the flames crackle. The man who had just entered sat down by the fire, took out a slice of meat to roast until soft, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"I heard...regarding Bianliang..."

The words came out, then stopped again. The faces of the people in the cave showed various expressions, most of them looking at Tie Tianying before lowering their heads in silence. Most of them were experts from the Ministry of Justice, who had come from the capital, and some of their families were in Bianliang. Several months ago, Ning Yi rebelled, and the Wu Rui Army searched the capital before heading north. After two consecutive battles, they routed several pursuing forces, who abandoned their armor and fled in defeat. The new emperor ascended the throne in the capital, and after things had settled down, he gathered manpower again and formed the Rebel Suppression Division, directly overseen by Tan Zhen, to诛杀 (zhū shā - execute) traitors.

Because Tie Tianying had dealt with Ning Yi before and had even sensed the other party's disloyal intentions in advance, Tan Zhen promoted him and Fan Zhong, among others, after taking office, appointing them as commanders of the Rebel Suppression Division's teams. Their orders were heeded by all six ministries, which was truly a remarkable promotion.

However, the Rebel Suppression Division had only been established for a short time when the Jin army descended south like a flood. By the time they reached the Northwest, they had only managed to get a slight grasp of the situation. The Jin had almost reached Bianliang, and then the world fell into chaos. The Rebel Suppression Division was like a child that had just been born and then abandoned, with all contact and news from above cut off, and the team's morale was low. Moreover, the people in the Northwest were fierce and strong. Tie Tianying and the others could get the local government offices to cooperate, but if they really needed effective assistance, even if they held the Emperor's Sword, people might not listen to their orders. For a time, they were somewhat at a loss as to what to do.

And today, the news of the fall of the capital had arrived. It was impossible not to think that with the country about to fall, the Rebel Suppression Division might no longer exist.

"...If the Western Xia people come and retake Hengshan, there will be no peace in this Northwest region. The world will be in chaos." After a long silence, Tie Tianying threw another piece of firewood into the bonfire, watching the movement of the flames before slowly speaking. However, what he said could not help but make people think of the prophecy that had been circulating.

Bianliang would fall within a year, and everything north of the Yellow River would be lost. Within three years, everything north of the Yangtze River would be lost to the Jurchens, and tens of millions of people would be slaughtered like pigs and sheep—

Now, it seemed that the situation was indeed no different from what the "Heart Devil" had predicted.

"But if not for that fiend committing such rebellious acts! How could my Wu Dynasty be in such dire straits today!" Tie Tianying's gaze suddenly turned cold as he spoke, raising his eyebrows as he looked out. "I know what you're thinking, but even if some of you have family in Bianliang, with the Jurchens besieging the city, how could you possibly get in? We are working in the north. As long as we have a chance, how could Master Tan not take care of our families? Everyone, to put it bluntly, if our families and relatives truly suffer misfortune, everyone should think about who is to blame for this! How can we avenge them!"

"My Wu Dynasty has a history of hundreds of years, with a deep foundation. Even that fiendish rebel only dares to say...he only dares to say that he will retreat south of the Yangtze River within three years. But if he hadn't assassinated the emperor in court, causing the morale in the capital to plummet again and again, with as many as 200,000 people leaving the capital within a few months, how could Bianliang have fallen so quickly? This kind of traitorous rebel...I, Tie Tianying, will eventually personally kill this fiend!"

As he spoke these words, he was resolute and filled with hatred. The others in the cave exchanged glances. One of his confidants walked over and put his hand on Tie Tianying's back of the hand: "We will eventually诛杀 (zhū shā - execute) the traitor."

The others also came over one after another, saying: "We will eventually 诛杀 (zhū shā - execute) the traitor..."

Only when everyone had said these words did Tie Tianying nod slightly: "We are currently here, isolated and weak, unable to fight head-on, but as long as we keep an eye on that side and understand the rebel's true strength, we will eventually have this opportunity."

After a moment, he added: "No matter how strong the Wu Rui Army is, it's only ten thousand people. This time, the Western Xia people are coming with great momentum. He is blocking in front. Whether or not we have the opportunity to 诛杀 (zhū shā - execute) the rebel is actually hard to say."

Outside, the wind and snow howled. Most of the people in the cave nodded, saying a few words to boost morale, but in reality, not many could remain firm in their hearts at this time. Most of them were from the ranks of constables and head constables, with good martial arts skills, but most importantly, they were intelligent. They were used to the slippery people in the underworld and the marketplace. To say that Bianliang could have been defended if the Wu Rui Army had not rebelled, not many people believed it. On the contrary, they were very clear about the power struggles and various dark secrets in the upper echelons of the imperial court. However, they were used to people wallowing in the darkness, but they had never seen anyone overturn the table like this and kill the emperor.

But at the moment, they could only echo and express their views in this way.

The night grew deeper. Tie Tianying sat in the innermost part of the cave, silent and determined. At this time, the wind and snow were raging, and the world was vast. All he could do was close his eyes and sleep in this cave, maintaining his physical strength. Only in the gaps that others could not detect would he wake up from this sleep, open his eyes, and then clench his teeth and fall asleep silently.

Among the two promoted chief constables of the Ministry of Justice, Fan Zhong's task was to connect with the heroes of the underworld and respond to the grand plan of 诛除 (zhū chú - eliminate) traitors. Tie Tianying led several teams to the Northwest to collect the Wu Rui Army's tracks and information, and even assassinate the Heart Devil when appropriate. But at this time, only he himself knew the unease and pressure in his heart.

After arriving in the Northwest, it was not very difficult to find out the tracks and movements of such a large army. He could even send one or two scouts into Qingmu Village, one of the rebel's bases, to investigate the situation. In these days, the comings and goings between Qingmu Village and Xiaocang River, as well as the gradual gathering of Wu Rui Army soldiers and their families from various places, could all be traced by his men, even observed from a distance.

In such a situation, with outsiders constantly entering Xiaocang River, they could not insert their own people into it. When the Wu Rui Army rebelled, those who left directly were a relatively unattached group, and most of those with wives and children stayed behind. The imperial court had imposed high-pressure control over this group of people, and had even found some of them to instigate them to become spies to help 诛杀 (zhū shā - execute) the rebel, or to pretend to surrender and pass on information. But now that Bianliang had fallen, Tie Tianying's side could not distinguish between those who were said to be "pretending" to surrender.

Some subordinates wanted to contact these people, and others wanted to attack them to set an example. Tie Tianying simply told them to quietly investigate the information. On the surface, he naturally said not to startle the snake. However, in these days, Tie Tianying had woken up in the middle of the night several times because he had dreamed of the figure of the Heart Devil.

The other party counter-reconnaissance and then killed over!

No one knew that the closer he got to the Heart Devil, the more vigilant and even afraid Tie Tianying became in his heart.

The situation between the two sides was completely different from what it had been in the capital.

At that time, Tie Tianying dared to provoke the other party, even threatening him, trying to make him angry and drive him into a corner. At that time, in his heart, he was no different from this man named Ning Liheng. Even the identity of the chief constable of the Ministry of Justice was much higher than that of a disgraced aide to the prime minister's mansion. After all, the Heart Devil's nickname only came from his scheming, and Tie Tianying was a top-notch martial arts expert. He could even become a grandmaster in the underworld. After learning so much inside information, how could he be afraid of a young man who only relied on some schemes?

When the two sides had some conflicts, he punched the other party in the street, and the other party didn't even dare to get angry. Even though his wife's whereabouts were completely unknown, he was angry on the surface, but in essence, he couldn't do anything to himself.

From beginning to end, he couldn't do anything to himself. It wasn't until the young man flew into a rage, broke through Bianliang, and killed the Emperor in front of all the civil and military officials that Tie Tianying suddenly realized that the other party simply hadn't taken him seriously.

Otherwise, in that situation of the city being broken, with the Patrol Department, the Ministry of Justice, and the White Tiger Hall of the Ministry of War all being trampled, how could he, a mere chief constable of the Ministry of Justice, have escaped the other party's attack.

Now that he had become the enemy of the world and raised the banner of rebellion, how could he not guard against pursuers like himself? With that man's scheming, if he rashly approached, perhaps some place or some piece of information was a trap he had deliberately set up. Perhaps one day, in his sleep, the other party would have ordered his subordinates to counterattack and wipe out his group of annoying little pebbles.

If the other party was a reckless rebel who focused on domineering power, as powerful as Liu Dabiao, Fang La, or Zhou Tong, Tie Tianying would not be afraid. But this time, he really felt that this was possible. After all, Lin Echan, whose martial arts skills were probably the best in the world, had only embarrassingly suffered losses and ran away several times when he faced the Heart Devil. He was the chief constable of the Ministry of Justice and had seen many cunning and slippery people, but he had never seen anyone play scheming and layout to this extent, overturning the Golden Throne. If he really stood in front of the other party, he would not be able to attack at all. Every step he took, he would probably have to worry about whether it was a trap.

Even Lin Echan, after Ning Liheng left and raised the banner of rebellion, the Great Bright Sect only took the opportunity to enter the capital and did not dare to follow him to the Northwest to seek revenge. And now, the Great Bright Sect had only been in the capital for a few months, and the capital had been broken. It was estimated that they could only scurry back to the south in disgrace.

This was not something that strength could make up for.

If he was cautious and did not act rashly, perhaps one day in the future, when the situation was in chaos, he could really find an opportunity to attack. But now was the time when the other party was most vigilant. If he foolishly went up, his little bit of manpower would simply be moths flying into the flame.

Perhaps his subordinates did not understand these things, but he understood them.

Of course, now that the Western Xia people were coming south, and the Wu Rui Army had only ten thousand troops, setting up camp here, perhaps one day they would fight with the Western Xia and then be destroyed here. It was not impossible.

If that was the case, then perhaps that was the best result for himself and his subordinates...

Such thoughts flashed through the deepest part of his heart...

************

The small Cang River was also shrouded in wind and snow. In the courtyard on the hillside, warm light was faintly coming out from between the window frames.

The brazier emitting light was warming the small room. In the room, the Great Devil's family was also about to go to sleep. Surrounding the Great Devil were the women who were quite young in later generations, but were already married women at this time, as well as his two children, one big and one small. The pregnant Yunzhu was making insoles under the lamp, Yuan Jin'er was holding the little Ning Ji, occasionally teasing him, but the little child was already yawning and squinting his eyes.

Ning Xi sat upright on a small chair, listening to his father tell interesting stories from ancient books. His mother, Su Tan'er, sat beside him. Xiao Chan occasionally looked at the hot water on the brazier, adding some to people's teacups, and then went back to Yunzhu's side, making insoles with her, and then covering her mouth and squinting her eyes, yawning slightly - she was also a little sleepy.

After returning from a long trip and dealing with some things, everyone gathered together in this late night to tell the children a story, or chat softly together. This was a bedtime pastime for the Ning family.

Outside the courtyard were the deep night and the flying snow all over the sky. The heavy snow that had just started falling at night seeped into the coldness of the late night, as if making this mountain wild mysterious and dangerous. Not many people were active outside, but even at this time, a figure appeared in the wind and snow. She slowly walked towards this side, and then stopped far away, somewhat like she wanted to approach, and then wanted to stay away. She could only stay in the wind and snow, tangled for a while.

In the courtyard, the family reunion had already begun to disperse. Jin'er hugged the little Ning Ji and went back to the bedroom with Yunzhu. Xiao Chan hugged Ning Xi. In the room, the couple should still be talking. The figure in the wind and snow watched this scene from afar. On the small road on the hillside, she lightly kicked the snow under her feet, and then looked up at the invisible night sky. Finally, she turned around and was about to leave.

Over at that courtyard, Ning Yi's figure also appeared. He walked through the courtyard, opened the courtyard door, and came towards this side wearing a cloak. The figure in the darkness looked back, stopped, and Ning Yi walked along the mountain road, gradually getting closer.

"Hey, what a coincidence." Ning Yi said to Xigua (literally translated as Watermelon, assumed to be a name).

Xigua frowned and turned to leave.

"Just kidding." Ning Yi smiled slightly, "Let's take a walk together."

The figure in front did not stop, and Ning Yi still walked over slowly. After a while, they had already walked together. The midnight wind and snow were frighteningly cold, but they were just talking softly.

They were not afraid of the wind and snow...